Never hated Lackey. Wasn't necessarily a fan of the signing because of the cost, but in reality, it was the going price and I always thought he was a good pitcher.

As for 2011, I always felt at the time that he was pitching hurt because he was too good to go that bad. As for the chicken and beer stuff, I still think some of that was overblown. Beyond that, I also knew he was going through some personal stuff -- he admitted as much at one point -- he never had a reputation for being a bad guy.

So I was always willing to give him a second chance, especially once he underwent Tommy John surgery. I felt he was a competitor and because of the way his teammates defended him -- not even whispers about him -- I was always willing to have a wait-and-see attitude. From the first look at him at the beginning of spring, I've become even more of a fan of his. I always loved his competitive attitude even if things got away from him in 2011.

Never hated him. Definitely was disappointed in him in the past but redemption's here. A terrific, gutsy performance by Lackey, Tazawa and Uehara! Let's hope for a repeat performance from Peavy tomorrow. Kudoes to the strikeout man Napoli who connected when it counted. Go Red Sox!

I always liked Lackey but thought like many others that he was overpaid. I was also optimistic that he would have a good season this year after the tommy john surgery and he definitely had a great season. What a great game by him and the entire Red Sox team today. I am also hoping that the Dodgers win tonight.

"They used an off site company =for the forums, B. They decided to tske it back for "more control". "

I will always believe the decision to pull the forums in house was for monetary reasons which I completely understand. But the "more control" thing doesn't make a lot of sense as a reason, whereas budget issues would explaint the bare bones experience and the challenges upgrading functionality. I still enjoy the board to don't mean this in any way but just - we live in a real world where providing free forums is not easy economically.

As for Lackey, I see it as less that he was misunderstood - I see it as a redemption story. He set his mind to get in shape and work on his game, he worked his butt off and I admire the heck out of him right now.

CONGRATULATIONS JOHN LACKEY

No matter what happens, I will never forget him out-dueling Verlander. What a gutty performance. I tip my hat.

Yeah, I've been down on Lackey, this season is the first time he's done well since he came on board years ago. Didn't want him going potentially twice in this series either because he wasn't pitching so well lately. But he was great tonight! Wonderful surprise!!